Operating mechanism.



-H.P.KUHN$ OPERATING MECHANISM. ARPLIOATION IILBi) no. 26, 1912.

Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

Inventor;

Attornysa H. F. KUHNS. OPERATING MECHANISM. APPLIGATIdN FILED DEC. 26, 1912.

1,133,728. I Patented Man-30,1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- Q Inventor,

Attorneys v--H F. KUHNS. OPERATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED DBO. 26, 1912. 1,133,728. I I Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

,IIIIIIIIIIIII Witnesses Inventor,

I Attorney;-

nowaan r. KUHNS, or FULLERTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

OPERATING MECHANISM.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HOWARD F. KUHNs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fullerton, in the county of Lehigh and 5 State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Operating Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to operating mechanism particularly designed .for actuating a clothes wringer.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide wringer mechanism which is supported independently of the tub and which can be adjusted angularly in a horizontal plane so as to be held at any desired position relative to the tub, there being mechanism for actuating the wringer in any position to which it may be adjusted.

Another object is to provide power mechanism having means for controlling the transmission of power from the main drive shaft to the wringer so that the wringer can be actuated to feed fabrics from either side thereof desired.

One of the objects of the present invention is to so mount and position the wringer that it can be used either while the washing machine is in use or while said machine is outof use. For example, it is possible to wash a set of fabrics and, while said fabrics are'being washed, to pass another set of fabrics from rinse water into the wringer and thence to another tub containing blue water, after which the fabrics can be passed back through the wringer and into a clothes basket, this entire operation taking place during the actuation of the washing machine and without stopping or starting the motor. Furthermore it is possible to shift the wrlnger into positionto receive the fab" rics as they are lifted from the washing machine, said machine being stationary and to pass the fabrics through the wringer and into a tub provided therefor, this operation being efl ected without necessitating the stopping or starting of the motor. As a matter of fact, the mechanism is so constructed and arranged that all of the various operations necessary in order to complete all steps of the washing and drying operation can be. effected without in anywise interfering with the action of the motor after said motor has once been started.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the inventlon resides in the com-.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed December 26, 1912. Serial No. 738,640.

' application hereinbefore referred to.

Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

bination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understoodthat changes in .the preciseembodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention. 4

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings :-Figure l is a plan view of the complete washing apparatus,

the wringer being shown in position for pressing water from fabrics while being passed from one receptacle to another while the tub of the washing machine is in opera tion. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the wringer operating mechanism, the washing machine being removed. Fig. 3 is a section through the shifting gears on the revolu-ble spindle. Fig. 4; is a section on line A-B Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation of the counter shaft and the clutch members and gears thereon. Fig. 6 is a detail view of the lever used for shifting theclutch member shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the swinging wringer supporting bracket, the spindle being shown by dotted lines. Fig. 8 is a detail view of the sleeve shifting member. Fig. 9 is a detail view of one of the locking members used in connection with the structure shown in Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a perspective view of one side plate of the drain board. Fig. 11 is a detail view of one of the fixed brackets. Fig. 12 is a detail view showing a portion of the drainboard and one of its guide pins.

Referring to the figures by'characters of reference 1 designates a tub adapted to rock,

the same being of that type disclosed inr my his tub is adapted to belocated at one side of a frame made up of short standards 2 and long standards 3, 4, 5 and 6. These standards support side and end strips 7 and 8 respectively and mounted on the end strips are parallel slats 9 which may be used for supporting tubs, a clothes basket or the like. The standards 3 and 5 may be connected at their upper ends by a cross strip 10 and side rails 11 and 12 may be secured, to the standards 4, 5 and 6. The outer side of the standard 5 is beveled longitudinally, asindicated at 11 and extending from the upper and lower portions of this beveledsurface are upper and lower brackets 12 and 13, the lower bracket being provided with an upstanding boss 14 having a passage 15 therein constituting the seat for a shaft, as will be hereinafter described.

Secured to the beveled face 11 is an intermediate bracket 16 having an upstanding boss 17 provided with a passage 18. This boss projects into an opening 19 formed in an ear 20which islocated at the lower end of a bracket 21, the inner upper end of said bracket being also provided with an car 22 having an opening therein as shown which is adapted to receive a similar boss upstanding from the bracket 12, said boss being indicatedat 24. The bracket 21 is bolted or otherwise secured to the bottom of a wringer structure indicated generally ards 3 and 4 having at 25 and which includes rolls 26 geared together in any preferred manner and one of which has a bevel gear 27 rotating with it.

The structure 25 includes a cross bar 28 which is supported above the standard5 and is adapted to swing into position above either of the standards 3 and 4, said standupwardly projecting tongues 29 constituting stops for limiting the swinging movement of the bar 28. and the balance of the wringer structure. Buttom 30 or the like are mounted on the standards 3 and 4 and are adapted-to be turned into engagement with the bar 28 so as to hold said bar against-either of the tongues 29. In Fig. 1 the wringer structure has been shown extending transversely of the tub supporting frame and with bar I' standard being indicated at 45.

this extensionis provided with an annular' opposed arcuate groove 37 into which gers 38 project loosely, these fingers being extended from a collar 39 located at the lower end of an actuating rod 40. This rod is slidably mounted within guide ears 41 ex from the brackets 21 and the upper of the shifting rod 40 is extended the. wringer structure and tending portion upwardly above pivotally connected, as at 42, to one end of f a controlling lever 43. This lever is fulcrumed at an intermediate point upon a standard 44 extending upwardly from the wringer structure, the pivotal point on the This standard has an arcuate extension 46. provided at 23 and with a series of apertures 47, any one of these apertures being adapted to receive a locking pin '48 extending laterally from a locking lever 49 which is fulcrumed, as at 50, u on the lever 43. A spring 51 is interpose between the two levers 49 and 43 and serves to hold the pin 48 normally pressed against the arcuate extension 46 of the standard.

Journaled upon one side of the tub supporting frame is a longitudinal shaft 52 having a bevel gear 53 which is supported between the gears 34 and 35-. Thus it will be seen that when lever 43 is shifted in one direction, it will pull on the rod 40 and elevate the sleeve 33 so as to bring the lower gear 35 into mesh with gear 53. By shifting lever 43 so as to bring locking pin 48 into'the middle aperture 47, as shown in Fig. 9, sleeve 33 will be shifted so as to hold both of the gears 34 and 35 out of mesh with I gear 53. By again shifting lever 43 so as to bring 1ts locking pin into the third aperture 47 the sleeve 33 will be shifted along shaft 31 so as to bring gear 34 into mesh with gear 53. Thus it will be seen that, if gear 53 is constantly rotating in one direction, by shifting gears 34 and-35, the rollers of the'wringer can be caused to rotate in either direction desired or can be completely disconnected from the longitudinal shaft 52 so as thus to remain stationary during the rotation of said shaft. As the shaft 31 constitutes the center about which the bracket 21 swings, it will be seen'that the wringer structure can be adjusted angularly in a horizontal plane so as to assume any desired position relative to the sides of the tub supporting frame and no matter in what position this wringe'r structure may be adjusted, it is always possible to drive the wringer rolls in either direction desired or to com- A pletely disconnect them from their driving mechanism by the means herein described.

Extending laterally from the main tub supporting frame is a stationary spindle 54 on which a fly wheel- 55 is mounted for rotation, this fly wheel having a gear 56. formed on or connected to the hub thereof and which is constantly in mesh with a larger gear 57 secured to a counter shaft 58, which is journaled in the side of the main supporting frame. l A bevel gear 59 is secured to and rotates with the counter shaft and is constantly in mesh with another bevel gear 60 secured to one end of the longitudinal drive shaft 52. Thus it will be seen that, during the actuationof the shaft58, the'drive shaft 52 will be constantly operated. I Loosely mounted on the counter shaft 58 is a gear 61 having a-clutch member 62 extending from the 'hub thereof. Another 1 which is loosely engaged by the forked end and has spaced openings 69 any one of which is adapted'to receive a holding pin 70 extending downwardly from the lever 66. Thus it will be seen that by shifting the upper end of the lever 66 in one direction, the clutch member 63 can be disengaged from clutch member 62 and, by shifting the lever in the opposite direction, the two clutch members can be brought into engage ment'with each other. Thus gear 61 can be released from or locked to the shaft 58. Gear 61 meshes with a much larger gear 71 mounted for rotation on a laterally eXtending fixed spindle and this gear 71 has a wrist pin 73 adapted to be engaged by a pitman 74. A bracket 75 is secured to one end of the rocking tub 1 and the pitman 74 is adapted to be pivotallyand detachably connected to this bracket, the pivot pin 76 be ing readily removable for the purpose of re-- leasing the pitman from the bracket. Shaft 58 can be driven in'any preferred manner. For example an electric motor such as shown generally at 77, can be mounted on the bottom portion of the main frame and can transmit motion, as through a belt 78, to the fly wheel 55. Where the mechanism is to be driven by an explosive engine, the fly wheel 55 may be removed and said engine connected by belt to a small pulley 79 on the shaft 58.

By means of the mechanism herein described it will be seen that the operation of both the tub and the wringer rolls can be controlled at all times. By shifting the lever 43, so that its locking pin 48 engages the middle aperture 47, the roll mechanism is disconnected from the drive shaft 52 and will not, therefore, be operated. By shifting lever 66 "in one direction, the clutch members 62 and 63 can be brought into engagement with each other and motion will thus be transmitted from shaft 58 to the pitman 74 and the tub 1 caused to rock. Thusfabrics contained within the tub can be washed and the wringer structure swung to position above the standard 4 and parallel to the side of the tub. At this point it might be stated that the wringer structure includes a drain board 80 which is slidably mounted below the rolls and between the sides of the wringer structure, this board being provided, along each side,'with a side plate 81 provided with an elongated slot 82, the ends of the slots being provided with Guide pins 84 will be seen that when th drain board is have been washed sufliciently by rocking the tub in the manner hereinbefore described,

the lever 66 can be shifted so as to uncouple,

the clutch members 62 and 63 whereupon the operation of the tub will be stopped.

The cover 85 of the'tub can then be removed and the drain board 80 shifted so as to be inclined downwardly toward the open top of the tub. Lever 43 is then shifted to bring the lockingpin 48 into the lower aperture 47 and motion will thus be transmitted from shaft 58 through the several shafts and gears to the rollers and, as the fabrics are lifted from the tub and fed to the rollers, the water will be pressed from them and said fabrics will be directed away from the tub of the washing machine and into a tub. of rinsing water which may be located back of the wringer and upon the supporting slats 9. After all of the fabrics have been'removed from the tub of the washingmachine and passed through the wringerinto the tub of rinsing water, lever 43 can be shifted to bring its locking pin 48 into the central aperture 47, thus completely uncoupling the wringer mechanism from the drive mechanism. A new lot of fabrics can be placed in the tub, the cover 85 placed in position, and lever 66 shifted so as to couple the clutch members 62 and 63, thus again setting the tub of the washing machine in motion. While the contents of the washing machine are being washed, the wringer structure can be swung to the position indicated in Fig. 1 and a tub of blue water placed back of the wringer. The drain board 80 can be retained in the position which it held while draining into the tub 1 and lever 43 can be shifted to bring its locking pin 48 into engagement with the lower aperture 47. Thus motion will be transmitted to the rolls of the wringer, said rolls being actuated as before and the fabrics can be lifted from the rinsing water and passed between the rolls of the wringer into the tub of blue water. After the fabrics have thus been entirely removed from upon the foregoing operation can be .re-

peated;

By disconnecting the pitman 74 from the bracket 75, the tub l of the washing machine can be operated independentlyof the drive mechanism. This is particularly desirable should the motor break down from any cause.

In order that the shaft. 31 may be held in proper relation to the brackets-12, 13' and 16, and in order that the bracket 21 may be held against collars 86 maybe secured to the shaft 31 below bracket 12 and above the ear 22, as

shown particularly in Fig. 2. i

.Whatis'claimed is:---

The combination with a supporting-structure and superposed brackets outstanding therefrom, of a vertical shaft mounted for operating mechanism and as the up and down movement,

rotation within said brackets, a bracket revoluble upon the shaft and bearing downwardly upon the firstnamed brackets, said revoluble bracket having outstanding ears, a horizontal shaft carried by therevoluble bracket and a gear revoluble with the horizontal shaft, a gear secured to'the vertical shaft and constantly meshing with the gear upon.the horizontal shaft, a drive shaft, a gear thereon, spaced upon superposed ears upon ing mesh with the gear'on the drive shaft, thereby to rotate the gear of the horizontal shaft in'either direction irrespective of the angularadjustment of said shaft relative to the supporting structure. r

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as-my own I havehereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HOWARD F. KUHNS.

- Witnessesz.

SELINA WiLLsoN, I. E. SIMPSON.

superposed gears the vertical shaft, the gear of the drive shaft being extended between the.

gears, and means guided by the the revoluble bracket for shift-' either of said superposed gears into 

